Women and Power: Hard to Earn, Difficult to Signal, and Easy to Lose

Although women have made great strides in attaining positions of power and leadership in recent decades, there still remain barriers to women not just in continuing to attain these positions but also in maintaining them. In this lecture Professor Brescoll will cover a range of her recent research that demonstrates the ways in which, for women, power can still be hard to earn, difficult to signal to others (once power is attained), and, in certain circumstances, easy to lose. Using a variety of research methods, including both experiments and archival datasets (e.g., the United States Senate), Brescoll will explore the ways in which gender stereotypes continue to shape our perceptions of women and how these stereotypes impede women’s progress in gaining, exercising and maintaining power.